When it comes to working with available materials at hand, it's impossible to beat the inventors and entrepreneurs in Africa. I had the pleasure of visiting Kenya several years ago, and I was blown away by the creative recycling, tinkering, and otherwise extreme forms of craft. It seemed wherever an opportunity was spotted, creative people were making that opportunity work for them. Take the above example, for instance.
Cyril Mazibuko was a 12-year old South African with a passion for flying. He took the basic parameters of a paraglider and recreated it using twine and fertilizer bags. With some testing and refinement, he got his creation to fly.... sort of. Other paragliders were amazed (and a little horrified) at the sight of the homemade parachute in action. A local paragliding instructor saw Cyril's creation and helped him scrounge up a real parachute. It was the homemade parachute that gave him a start, though--propelling him to professional accreditation by age 16.
It's hard not to fetishize the achievements of plucky African inventors. I don't want to come off as a patronizing first-worlder when I write about them--their innovation comes as a result of terrible disadvantage. My new favorite website is Afrigadget, an amazing blog featuring everyday innovation from Africa. A quick glimpse of their recent posts include innovative cell phone chargers, charcoal-fueled hot dog carts and a reminder of widespread inventions like vented outhouses that had their start in Africa. Afrigadget gives a voice to these entrepreneurs and inventors and also encourages microlending through sites like Kiva, which in turn supports more innovation. Forget paranoia about Chinese Industry swallowing America.... American Extreme Crafters are in danger of losing their edge to Africa.
LINK to Paragliding story LINK to Afrigadget (via BoingBoing)
